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The Great Portuguese Sausage Shootout

Being very proudly half-Portuguese myself of ethnic background, it’s fitting that I do a thorough job of covering one of Hawaii’s favorite ethnic foods, the Portuguese Sausage. Hawaii’s manufacturers mostly stick by a similar recipe that is unique to the islands, setting ours apart from those found on the mainland, and of course, Portugal.

The most popular way to eat it is for breakfast as simply Portuguese Sausage, Eggs and Rice. Comfort food at its best. Most Hawaii restaurants that serve breakfast have Portuguese sausage as an option to bacon, breakfast links or ham, including national chains such as McDonald’s and iHop.

What inspired me to have a Portuguese Sausage shootout is the wide selection of locally-made brands and varieties that fill our supermarket shelves today, commonly taking up to 4 feet of meat department refrigerator shelf space.

With (now) 11 players on the “field”, I had to be careful in properly identifying each one for an accurate comparison. While they’re each slightly varied in color and size, for the most part, they all share the same DNA, so labeling was the only way to do it…

As you can see, they all have distinguishable marbeling; some more pronounced than others…

The newest player on the field is Uncle Louie’s, made in Kahului, Maui and available in a bulk pack of 3 HUGE (I mean HUGE) 1 pound sausages at Costco. On a side note to Costco, they also sell Redondo’s Portuguese Sausage in preformed “Spam Musubi” rectangular shapes. How cool is that!

Portuguese Sausage tastes best pan-fried for serving…

I cut 4 slices from each brand, about 3/8″ thick at a bias (diagonally) to provide more surface area.

The only way to give this shootout a fare shake was to accompany the taste test with its true companion, eggs and rice!…

Yes, call me crazy. I felt that way attempting to properly plate, sort and label this spread. But tell me that doesn’t look good! Notice I added a couple slices of Takuan, a Japanese picked turnip. I learned this from the mama sans at Tropic Fish and Vegetable market, who makes their Portuguese Sausage, eggs and rice breakfast bento with this. It adds balance, harmony and helps buffer the palate. Try it with Takuan. The best!

The results!..

Frank’s Foods Portuguese Brand Sausage:
Pork, beefy, smoky and tight; not too fatty or greasy. You haven’t had local style Portuguese Sausage until you’ve had Franks!

Hawaiian Sausage Company Mild Portuguese Brand Sausage (distributed by Rego’s Purity Food Co., Inc.):
Smokey!, mildly spicy, porky & moist. Even with the added smoke component, this one was also very well balanced and packed with flavor.

Redondo’s Lisboa Portuguese Brand Sausage:
Redondo’s is great, but Gouvea’s slightly beefy profile gives it just a little more character than Redondo’s. Still, this is good, and even in 6th place, it’s something I’ll put in the shopping cart on an impulse buy.

Kukui Sausage Co, Inc. Portuguese Brand Sausage:
Decent, but lacks character. It’ s just OK, still slightly better than the last place contender as follows.

Gouvea’s Portuguese Brand Sausage Made with Pork and Chicken:
Subtle flavor, not much marbleization.

Post edit: Frank’s Foods from Hilo is my favorite! The beef and the smoke flavoring, combined with the texture, which is tight and not to fatty make this one stand out. And allthough there’s beef in it, which is out of the norm from the rest of the pack, it still screams loud and proud, “I’m the best Portuguese Sausage!”

Rego’s Purity of Hawaii Mild Portuguese Brand Sausage was my overall favorite. With that, it’s still a close contender for first place, but I’ll hand that to Franks. The Purity won a blind taste test by four members in our household. I wouldn’t kick any one of these brands off the table, but if I could only choose one, Franks would be first, then Rego’s Purity. As for Purity, flavorful balance is the best way to describe it. It also caramelized nicely due its sugar component. My next choice also comes from Rego’s with their Hawaiian Sausage Company variety. The added smokiness really serves it well, and goes GREAT with those sunny-side up eggs. Excellent.

Whew. Let me tell you, that was alot of work. It wasn’t easy to try that much Portuguese Sausage in one sitting. After that, I didn’t eat for the rest of the day. That’s how full I was! The spices really give an aftertaste doesn’t go away for a long time. lol But it’s all good.

Next time you go grocery shopping, pick up a few brands of Portuguese Sausage and compare them yourself. You might find nuances in each that I couldn’t find, or a flavor preference that best suits you. Then after that, go on a diet for the rest of the week. I’m going vegetarian for the next 5 days after this. My blood is still boiling. lol

P.S.

Gouvea also makes this “Hot Dog”…

Gouvea’s Portuguese Brand Hot Dogs

It may look like a hot dog on the outside, but bite into it and you know what? It’s pretty much a miniature Portuguese Sausage! Same paprika, vinegar, and garlic flavor, sans the chili pepper. Very porky, including the marbelized fat in it. It’s really ono!

Gouvea’s Portuguese Brand Hot Dog, boiled and sliced in half

Next time I gotta’ try it in a hot dog bun. Maybe with just ketchup and chopped onions.

Per the instructions on the package, I boiled them for about 3 minutes…

They’re sort small, but they really pack flavor! Smokey, slightly sweet and savory in a shoyu-kind-of way, and moist inside. But the most important feature of these little babies is that SNAPPY CRUNCH of the casing. Nice! I’m not sure how I’d incorporate this in a recipe, but just alone as a pupu works for me. Pick some up and try.. I bet you’ll like it.

As a full blooded Portguese-American, who grew up in Corona, I can state with complete certainty that Silva’s brand can’t hold a candle to Ravin’s brand here. Here in the Tulare-Hanford area most of us would say that Ravin’s is the closest brand next to home made. I have not had the pleasure of trying Hawaian brand ,but look forward to trying them someday.

The Hawaiian Brand portugese sausage is my favorite today but it is nothing like the Gouveia Sausage from the 70’s and 80’s. Gouveia sausage today doesn’t taste anything like it did decades ago—they should not have tampered with the original recipe. Of all the varieties of sausages Gouveia has out today, none comes remotely close to their sausage back in the day. Does anyone from Hawai’i remember this sausage back then? When I would travel to the mainland I would stop in town at their warehouse to buy plenty to take up with me…the only kind my family wanted and loved.

Oh, my…what a fantastic array of deliciousness! Having been raised in Hawaii, I have fond memories of all the Portuguese Sausage delights and with such quality tastefulness! Now my mouth waters for some Portuguese Sweet Bread and for whatever else such venders might have to offer with Portuguese Sausages, in particular! Now abiding in far away IL, I’m not familiar with any place in the State that might offer such delicacies!

Thanks for doing this taste test, I don’t have a personal favorite so this will help the next time I’m at the market. I do like portugese sausage that Liliha Bakery serves, but I can never get them to tell me what brand it is. The closest i’ve gotten is, “it’s from the factory”.

Wish I could get portuguese sausage like this on the mainland! But I have to settle for packing my suitcase with frozen ones every time I go back. Next time I’ll make sure it’s regos purity (I think that’s the one I usually get anyway).

I wanted to let you know how much fun I have looking at your blog. I LOVE the food photos, it makes me SOOO Hungry. Reminds me of my childhood in Hawaii – and I miss “porogi” sausage soo much…even though I now live where Spam is made, I hardly ever buy it, much less eat it.
The next time I get back to the islands, I am going to have to go to Zippy’s and try their Chili Moco which I have never had the pleasure of having.
Thanks so much for all the Aloha!

Being half Portuguese myself and a lover of Portuguese saugage – or linguica as we called it when I was growing up – I enjoyed this post. I’m on the Big Island and haven’t seen the Mo’ Ono style from Redondo’s, but will look for it (all in the name of taste testing, of course!). Our standby is the Redondo’s 4 pack from Costco…

Kelly and Nate, you’re right! I inadvertently forgot to buy and include Redondo’s standard mild or hot Portuguese Sausage in the contest. My bad! This goes to show just how many varieties are on our shelves.. can’t keep track!

I’ll retrofit the standard Redondo’s P. Sausage into the mix here and grade its flavor in comparison to the others accordingly. Soon.

Thanks everyone for visiting and commenting. I had a feeling this PS shootout would be a fun entry.

wow …this is such a great entry, pomai!!! i really loved reading your critic on each one …thanks for doing this. i agree with your rating ….i like your top 3 too. i was disappointed with the Costso one …uncle louie’s. i await your next entry …i love your blog !!

Good one Pomai!!!! Enjoyed it. On your next round, check out Hilo’s Frank’s Food Portuguese Sausage. Curious how that one stands up to the rest. Hope they still make them with chucks of meat inside that kind of falls apart when cooking.

I agree with Lance. You gotta try the Hilo sausages and compare them to the stuff you got on Oahu. Frank’s Foods and Miko gotta be included in the test. You can get them at Marukai once in a great great while. I wanna know how they stack up to your taste buds.

Excellent job! I moved to Hawaii 5 years ago and always wondered how the different brands stacked up to each other. I usually just buy whatever is on sale at Daiei. (Don Quijote) I’ve certainly have had the Purtiy brand before. Now I’ll make sure it’s what I get. Keep up the good work on your blog!

Kory, I just bought one of Frank’s brand Portuguese Sausage (mild), which was a new item at Marukai here in Honolulu. I’ll retrofit that into the comparison later this week. I also need to add Redondo’s brand into the mix. I can’t believe I forgot that…my bad!

Also from Hilo, I have some Kulana brand blood sausage, which my mom (originally from Hilo) insists is the best.

HawaiiVacationsGift, according to the ingredients listings, the only brand here that has MSG is Redondo’s Mo’ono Sweet Hot Portuguese Brand Sausage. The most common chemical ingredient among all them is Sodium Nitrite, which is a meat preservative and color fixative.

Great comparison, I think either 5 or 6 is Pacific? Both are identical. Was wondering how Pacific compares, I don’t care for it myself. Good article, agree with earlier comments, Frank’s Foods of Hilo has always been our favorite.

Just got back from visiting my daughter in Anchorage and was happy to find Redondo Portuguese Sausage at Sagaya’s market. I had to buy an extra suitcase to bring it back to Oklahoma.
Miko is my favorite brand but have not been able to find it in any of the stores on Oahu whenever I go home.

Duh, yeah. I buy them by the case when ever I’m home in Hilo. Kulana Foods is right below my parents house. I love that. The only thing better than their blood sausage is if you can get them home made. Enjoy your eating but be sure not to take a blood test any time soon. :)

I grew up on Oahu and I just got back after visiting. I cleared out the shelves at Walmart of the Purity Brand Hawaiian Sausage. It truly is ONO! The best around and for only 97 cents. We all went to Liliha Bakery for breakfast every morning but Mel was in New York. We’ve been eating Rego’s Purity Portuguese Sausage for years. If anyone ever goes to Waikiki, make sure you stop for a shave ice at the Waiola Shave Ice Stand. Mahalo.

Marialucia…not sure if you goin’ get this msg. since you posted in Aug. but if you type in Portuguese Sausage in your search engine box you’ll find a number of different companies that can ship to the mainland. One site is called 1st Luau or something like that…kind of expensive considering can get ’em fo’ cheap back home, but if you really craving like me I’m sure it’s worth the money. For me personally, I just wait till my ‘ohana come visit and tell ’em fo’ pack some in da cooler and bring ’em up. HA HA! Fayetteville, huh? Not sure if get asian market where you at, but I know in Tucson there’s this place called 7th Street Fishmarket and they sell the Redondo’s brand portuguese sausage and poi (bag kine). So if you ever there you can always go there and pick it up…I think was like $.99 last July (that was the last time I was there, I live in Corpus Christi, TX).

I grew up in Ewa Beach, Oahu. After over 27 years in da Army, I settled down and re-rooted in Mesquite, Texas. I miss da local food soooooooooo bad. I compensate with my love of cooking. For the most part, I have no problem duplicating some of the dishes I miss the most. But I cannot find Portuguese sausage here. The closest is a Cajun Sausage called “Andoulle” (not sure of the spelling), but is not da same. Was home for a visit in summa of 06, and my two Auntys loaded me up on some Portuguese sausage and Redondo’s “Red” Franks. I ate Portuguese sausage, rice & eggs, chilli & frank plate for two weeks. I have a meat grinder, and a sausage stuffer, and want to make my own sausage. I have found a few recipes to try. Do you know of a good broke da mouth recipe to use?

I like any kine podogee sausage, but after eating the one from Ah Fook’s store on Maui, I gotta say dat das da best I ever tasted…period! When you go Maui, check them out down Kahului side across Young Bros.in the mall next to Burger King. You’ll wonder how you ever did without them.

I stumbled across this blog while looking for an authentic recipe for Linguica; one of the many encased meats of the motherland, to compare the ingredients with the Hawaiian version of “Portuguese Sausage” To my dismay I see that the producers do not list those proprietary flavorings that I need to accurately replicate the TRUE flavor of LINGUICA. Which is, as far as I can ascertain the, inspiration for this truly Hawaiian meat. I would suggest to the many Portuguese descendants here on the islands to either plan a trip to Lisbon or go online and order some Gaspar’s Linguica or Chourico so that you might appreciate the true and subtle flavors that have been lost over 10,000 plus miles and hundred’s of years.

I’m not trying to cast any negative light on the Island version, I find it’s flavor for the most part quite pleasant. But compared to the sausage produced by native sons in places Like New Bedford and Fall River it lacks a distinctive punch and complexity. I suppose thew same could be said of comparisons between TRUE Polish Kielbasa and the amalgum of meat, msg and artificial flavor responsible for the huge polish sausage industry in this country.

Island Portuguese style sausage is very good in it’s own right but I challenge every person that is a portagee to get ahold of some of the authentic stuff and give it a try. Of course unless you go to the north end of New Bedford to my mother in law’s portuguese butcher’s shop you will not get the real deal but there are many respectable venders in New England making fine sausages.

That’s not true! California has choke Portuguese and some of the most authentic Azorean linguica and Chourice probably this side of Fall River. But I use a six-gen recipe that came from Sao Miguel with our Ohana to Kauai and we’ve not altered it since. I would say that some of the brands from Tracy CA. Fernandes, Barcelos, and Santa Clara , Goulart’s, and Silva’s or Neto’s are closer to Gaspars or any from boston than the finer grind sausage and milder sweet Hawaii-style sausage. Just saying!

Thanks for all the input about California’s Portuguese Sausage scene. You should also check out this “Great Portuguese Suasage Hana Hou” post I did much more recently, pitting Gaspar’s and Silva’s from the mainland against Hawaii’s most popular brands…

The very best handmade Portuguese Italian sausage best and traditionally known as linguisa comes from a little tiny family owned shop in Tracy California. Tracy is best known for its Portuguese festivals that are huge and invite the entire town and it is a very strong very prolific Portuguese town this little butcher shop where they speak Portuguese still to this day is hidden in a little tiny industrial park out of the way and it carries nothing but authentic Portuguese products and you will get a variety of Portuguese meets at languages with the best marbling and the best flavor you’ve ever tasted. As mentioned in the post before thi, it is Fernandez and in this little tiny butcher shop you get the meatiest, chunkiest well marbled linguisa u’ve ever tasted. Makes a variety of textures to go according with the dishes that you make so you get true authentication Whether you slice it Grill it or add to Portuguese bean soup you will have the best language so that you are I have ever had. Their homemade Portuguese bread Are so delicious You won’t leave the store without a loaf

Silly me! Voice texting typed languages NOT linguisa as it should have, & I should have proof read! I was busy chompin on my linquisa!!! Yummy! Well if u happen to wander into Northern California east of San Francisco & the Bay Area about 50 minutes over the Altamont pass, u will arrive in Tracy, a simply bedroom / farming community known for its quality beans ( of course were all Portuguese!) Anyhow, google where to buy Linguisa once ur here & the only shop in town to buy handmade “old country”style Linquisa will pop up! Or u can have it shipped to u, Im sure!

I thank you very much for this article acclaiming Portuguese Sausage. I was introduced to it in Hawaii at the Outrigger Hotel on the Mainland (before renovations). It was delicious! It had a certain sweetness to it. When I was leaving Hawaii, I noticed a sign in Burger King fastfood restaurant for Portuguese Sausage. I was in a limo headed to the airport and therefore, could not stop.

I am not a cook and the prepared Portuguese Sausage is what I have been looking for. Are there restaurants in the United State where I can go and enjoy this food? Please post the web address or supply state/address information. I am looking for Portuguese Sausage with that Hawaiian flavor.

I don’t know where in CA you live but here in the Gardena/Torrance area, in
southern CA, are a few. They are Gardena Bowl, Bob,s Hawaiian Style Okazu-ya, King’s Bakery Local Place, King’s Hawaian Bakey/Restaurant, Hawaiian Eats, Marukai Market’s Kau Kau Korner and TnT’s Aloha Cafe. These places all serve hawaiian breakfasts/dishes and drinks. Some are much better than others but you have to try to determine for yourself. Try one or all when you down in this area.
Mamo Kotake

Wow, these are delicious. I haven’t tried Portuguese sausages yet but I must say they look good. I like to taste different kinds of sausages from different places around the world. The pictures keep me hungry and drooling. We also like sausages, eggs and fried rice for breakfast here.

I too was hurting for some portguese saugage after three years in the Navy at the old Barbers Point NAS. I lived in Wipahu and it was da best. After many years I tracked down the sausage at Gaspars. Still looking for a good recipe for the kine sausage and rice like breakfast and fried noodles too. Livin here in Texas.

I must say that I have never seen so many sausages together and I’m Portuguese!!!

I never saw that recipe on any traditional Portuguese menu. Specially for breakfast. I must say that this is definitely not “traditionally Portuguese”.

It seems to me that the traditional “Linguiça” with “Ç” and Chouriço, with “Ç” too, got inside a frying pan with a couple of eggs, and voilá you got something that has nothing to do with Portugal. I must add that the eggs for breakfast are traditional in England not Portugal.
I also must add that we don’t have that many variety of sausages. Someone confused us with Germany.
Sausage (“Salsicha” in Portuguese), “Chouriço” and “Linguiça” are very different things.

You can also search for “Morcela”, “Mouro”, “Farinheira”, for other traditional “enchidos”.

Welcome to the hodge-podge of our island’s cuisine! With all the different ethnic groups of people and their unique cultures here on the island it’s no surprize to see their influence reflected in our foods. Diversification is great!….and we love the diverse dishes and flavors of our multi-cultural cuisine!

Renato, thanks for stopping by. So you live in Portugal? My father was pure Portuguese, but born and raised in Hilo.

As for having that many Portuguese sausages, the demand for it in Hawaii must be high, because it seems we’re constantly getting more brands jumping into the market. And as you see by some of the comments, folks have their favorite brands. So far as you see, my top choice was Frank’s brand from Hilo. Truly stands on top. Next favorite was Rego’s Purity brand.

Hawaii’s Portuguese sausage recipes are all pretty similar in flavor that is unique to the islands, and those who’ve tried the ones on the mainland attest to that. Especially those Hawaii expats who yearn for the local style flavor.

I’m a native of Guam…..but now residing in the East coast. I’ve been craving and looking for the sausages (portuguese, lingueisa) and no luck. Supermarkets I shop at don’t have them, I’ve inquired where can I go to find these sausages, but even at that most don’t know or ever heard of it wad-dup wit dat? lol…I’m still looking. Please send to my email given..

They have the Frank’s brand Portuguese Sausage for sale online! It’s about double the price as it would be locally, NOT INCLUDING shipping, so that might be an issue. But still, that IS the winner of this shootout, and if you want a great representation of this delicacy, done “local style”, Frank’s brand Portuguese Sausage from the Big Island is a great choice.

Otherwise, pay a visit to the Marukai Market in San Diego. According to their website, there is one. Marukai’s mainland locations are known to carry made-in-Hawaii products. It’s a membership store (like Sam’ s Club and Costco), but you can get a 1-day visitors pass by going to the customer service counter before entering.

If they don’t have any of the Hawaii P.S. brands, surely someone working there should know where to point you to.

Did a taste testing like this back in May with Purity, Gouvea’s, Hawaiian Sausage, and Redondo’s, and the clear winner was Redondo’s. The mild and hot have a distinct flavor of herbs and spices, whereas most of the others (Gouvea’s especially) just seemed mostly salty. But maybe I’ll pick up some Purity for good measure when I head back to the mainland!

Being 100% Portuguese from Portugal I read this with great interest. I must say that when I arrived here some time ago I look upon this portuguese sausage suspiciously and at the beginning I didn’t appreciate them that much. It’s definitely not the same thing as the original but after some time I grew accustomed to it and right now there’s always some in my fridge.
Very nice blog btw.

Looking back at my taste test results, it looks like Redondo’s placed 4th and 6th, yet I did note some favorable qualities about them.

You really gotta’ get your hands on Franks (Hilo brand) though. That one is fantastic. I almost guarantee if you hold another test and do it blind, Frank’s will place either first or second place.

Hopefully the good folks over at WOWGrinds.com will hold a “scientific” blind taste test of all the brands on the store shelves.

Hugo, thanks for dropping by. I’d love to hear a more detailed description on REAL Portuguese Linguica from Portugal, and how you compare that with the Hawaii style sausages. Do the ones in Portugal have a higher fat content? Leaner? What kind of casing? Spice differences? Shape? Size? I’ve never looked for it locally, but I’m sure there’s gotta’ be some specialty market here that carries authentic imported Portuguese Sausage from Portugal. Hey, gotta’ respect the motherland!

A few years ago, in of all places, Food Pantry in Waikiki, I found a Linguica Portuguese sausage that was made in New York. So I bought it to try it out, and I ended up not liking it at all. It leaned more towards Chorizo, with too much spices, and the ground pork in it didn’t have much flavor if its own. Just the spices. It was kinda’ weird. Then again, folks from New York might find Hawaii’s Portuguese Sausage “kinda’ weird”. Like many other foods, sausages seem to be heavily influenced by the region their from.

Bruddah a true Linguica should be spicy with a smoked paprika back note, I think you pallet is used to the Hawaii version that has been changed for maybe lack or cost to recreate, but like I said I find the Hawaii sausage is too fine ground more like a brat, lincuica is more like Nola Andouille sausage in texture than franks and Louie’s, coming from Kauai and living in California in college I know that my six gen recipe taste more like the sausage in Cali than Oahu. My Portuguese Ohana came from the Azores, so since I’ve eaten both and love both local (Rego’s mainland Fernandes. Their is definitely differences from regions and they’ve all been adapted to taste for each, but they should. E appreciated for what they are great sausage. Oh BTW! To our Ohana it’s blasphemy to use Beef and then call it Portuguese. Never has pipi inside ever and be linguica.! ;-)

Hey, I just picked up some Purity sausage at Iwilei Costco, 4, twelve-ounce sausages for $7.29. I was leaning toward the Redondo’s even though it was more expensive at $8.29 for the same amount. I just thought that the Purity sausage looked a little too orange for my liking. I guess I got lucky!

hmmm….i’ll be on the look-out for the frank’s foods sausage – thank’s for the work, guess i’ll stick with the purity. i found that when i slice and then cook for a little bit in the micro (wrapped in paper towel) to let out some oil, then pan fry for that pan-fried look and taste, it seems to cut down on the grease….

They have a few popular Portuguese Sausage brands from Hawaii available. Where you’ll get hit hard is the shipping costs, obviously due to the outrageous fuel prices we’re all dealing with.

So if you order, say, 3 packages of Frank’s Portuguese Sausage (highly recommended!) @ $4.99 each, after shipping ($14.99 2nd day air, plus $7 handling charge) the total price will come out to $37 ($12.33/sausage). Ouch. If that’s the case, you might wanna’ consider ordering more than 3 to reduce the shipping cost per unit.

A very well presented comparison. Unfortunately, without having the mild and medium Miko brand sausage in the lineup, you have basically omitted the absolute benchmark of great Hawaiian “Por-ta-gee” sausage.

I’ve never seen Miko brand (Hilo Meat Co.) Portuguese Sausage on supermarket shelves on Oahu. Believe me, I bought EVERY brand, and EVERY variety within that brand (except HOT over MILD) I could get my hands on.

I was lucky enough to have been able to get Frank’s (another Hilo brand), which was only available at Ward Farmers Market for a limited time. At least currenty, it’s no longer available there.

I still say, if none of the above were available, I’d be just as content with Purity brand, the Oahu-based runner-up.

Don’t forget to check out http://www.WOWGrinds.com, where they did a blind taste test, pitting home-made Portuguese sausages against the store-bought brands.

My name is Jamie Pagliano and I am a producer for WE TV’s “Secret Lives of Women.” We are currently in our 4th season and one of our show topics is Dirty Jobs. We were looking for a female sausage maker to participate. I was wondering if you might know anyone that might be interested in participating. I have included some more info in regards to the show below.

Secret Lives of Women:

Kaos Entertainment is producing a third season of the WE – Women’s Entertainment Cable Television Network program, called “Secret Lives of Women.” This one-hour, multi-part series takes an up-close and very personal look at the important issues facing women today.

The “Secret Lives of Women” is presented in a documentary-style, letting women tell their stories in their own words as they share an intimate look at a week in their lives. Each episode tackles a different topic from women still breaking career barriers to women dealing with life threatening addictions – to women battling discrimination. The program will also encourage women to reach beyond their limits providing important insight into how women are managing careers and family while at the same
time, working to fulfill their own hopes and dreams.

The “Secret Lives of Women” portrays all of the women and topics in a positive way. Our main show goal is to portray our subjects accurately and to educate the viewers about this particular subject. Another bonus is that it’s a ton of fun!

By way of background, Kaos Entertainment has been producing award-winning television for over a decade. The company’s credits include some of the highest rated specials and series for U.S. Networks including FOX, SCI-FI Channel, Discovery, Travel Channel, TLC and Animal Planet.

WE – Women’s Entertainment is available in 60 million homes nationwide. For more information on Kaos Entertainment, please visit our website at www. kaosent. com.

Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you.

I stumbled across this site as I looked for a rice recipe. The fellow church member who made it for a pot-luck meal had lived in Hawaii and married a Hawiian man. The ingredients that I’m sure of are: rice, soy sauce, chopped onion, egg, crumbled pork sausage, and another sausage that looked similiar to what you have here on this site. The rice was similiar to a fried rice with the egg, sauted onion, and the two kinds of sausage. I have looked everywhere for a recipe like this with no luck and have lost touch with the girl who introduced it to us. Can you please help me, if possible??? Thank you so much, JH

JH, it sounds like any other “local style” fried rice; that one you tried using Portuguese Sausage instead of the usual Charsiu or SPAM (luncheon meat). Being that Portuguese Sausage was used, it surely had a much more characteristic flavor imparted by the spicy Portuguese Sausage. That said, it would be critical that you get the Hawaii-made brand of Portuguese sausage in order for you to properly duplicate that recipe.

As mentioned in one of my comments above, you can by Hawaii-made Portuguese Sausage online at this site:

Jaimie, sorry I came across your comment so late. I don’t know any sausage makers personally – either male or female, but I bet they do indeed exist, including at one of our factories. Look up any one of the manufacturers listed in the Portuguese Sausage shootout above and give them a call. I’m sure they’d be more than willing to help. Especially with the publicity for their company a TV show such as yours would offer! It’s kinda’ funny that you’re looking for “talent” in Hawaii, when there’s so many sausage manufacturers all across the nation. Perhaps looking for a Hawaii vacation at the same time? lol

I have moved to Texas in January 09. I have found some Hawaiian foods in Killeen on Business 190. Not sure of address, but you can map it. Called the Aloha and Talofa Store. They have portuguese sausage, lau lau, poi, hawaiian sun juices, manapua and Zippys chili too. Plenty other stuff go check them out. Iam portuguese so I need my sausage to make the podagee soup. There is also a supermarket in Killen called O’Mart. full of all kind oriental stuff. I also found Yellow fin Tuna {frozen} 2 fillets in HEB for $5.99. They also have it in O’Mart. They have Tako also. If any one have any more spots let me know.

In the summer and autumn of 1963, I was employed along with a lovely young lady, Anita Redondo, by a small company in San Francisco , THE TIE RACK. Eventually, Anita returned to Oahu to work in her family’s sausage factory. For several years, we stayed in contact with each other through cards and letters. I have often wondered why or how we interrupted our exchange. I would love to resume our correspondence.

I live in calif. city of Norwalk. years ago I could buy Linguica, in the city of Artesia calif. No more. So I ask where can I find real portuguese Linguica, around me Locally, or within a 10 mile radias

I live in NW Illinois and have been a to a few oriental markets in Wisconsin and Iowa, but have not found anything close to any of the brands you have here in your taste test. So far, I’ve done trial and error on about 6 different brands of linguisa and chorizo, to no avail. If anyone can give me a push in the right direction to brands that may have the local kine taste, please reply to this or email to demottam at hot mail…mahalos!

Here is my question to you, “The Great Portuguese Sausage Shootout” plus additional comparisons to Portuguese sausage and chorizo are all fantastic and informational but, there is no standard used to the real Portuguese made product.

The largest manufacture of Portuguese sausage (over 3 million pounds shipped annually each year in USA resides in Massachusetts on the mainland which is basically the standard linguica (pronounced lin-gwee-sah).

Chorizo sausage is made in Spain, France, Mexico, Uruguay, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Philippines and depending on the local area where it’s made the ingredients used will differ in spices and intensity of heat and grind of pork. Mexican chorizo is normally cooked out of the casing because it is finely ground. Portugal makes a version called “chourico” (pronounced shoor-reese) which is choice pork shoulder in chunks and very lean.

I grew up eating Portuguese sausage all my life from the largest Portuguese enclave on the mainland and to this day I order in from the mainland because Purity linguica (close to real Portuguese taste) and the green can chorizo (more Mexican than Portuguese) do not have the real Portuguese taste.

I know we live on an isolated island and work with what we have to work with but I think over the years the ture taste of the real Portuguese sausage has been lost.

Hey those sausages you listed are NOT real Portuguese. They are more close to Polish sausages. Being a Portuguese born in Hawaii, I grew up eating real Portuguese sausages — the ones made with chunks of pork and fat. Miko used to make the real ones, and they were da best kine in islands. Over the years, Miko had changed the flavor to near-Portuguese , but still far better than other sausages you listed. Like Lance said ( Jan. 2008 comment above), it is no contest with Miko. MIko is still THE Portuguese sausags in Hawaii. It is still only the real one. Jimmy the Portuguese

james, you are right, i grew up in makawao, maui in the 50s. at that time makawao and surrounding areas were portagee country. they made their own sausages to sell. the pork and fat was chunky, and they did fall out of the casing when you cooked them. amazing tasting , nothing like now. the blood sausages was so ono. i guess with the sanitation laws and the board of health, those days are long gone. by the way, i knew a james sousa growing up. their family owned a meat market in makawao.

James Souza is correct. The Portuguese sausage was very different. Loosely packed with chunks and whole pepper flakes. Would even fall apart in pan when cooked.much better. Miko and Ah Fooks kept it that way for a long while.

Do you have any do it your self recipes for por. sausage that we can make our self just like that smoked meat step by step recipe you made. ” great stuff ” if you have one with out msg would be great
Thank you

Must be lots of folks from Hawaii that work for Apple there at the home base. That new “space base” Apple is going to build is going to be INSANE! Ellison should do the same thing with a new Oracle “base” on Lanai.

From a Hilo boy who grew up on Miko and Frank’s foods… now in NorCal. I say Lockeford Sausages’ Hawaiian Luau Special flavor is in striking range up there with them. Got the sweet island P-sausage flavah. The only place you can get ’em is from their butcher shop. People drive 100 miles from SFO just to fill up their ice chest. Do a Yelp search on Lockeford Meat and Sausage. They are legendary around these parts.

I did a review not too long ago on KTA’s Mountain Apple Portuguese Brand Sausage from the Big Island. While I had a mixed impression of it, “Kona” Wally, who brought it to Oahu for me, claims that one tastes like what he remembers the original Miko brand Portuguese Sausage tasted like before they moved manufacturing to California.

Love your taste test! We were just in Kaua’i and Costco sold a few varieties, one of the “sample ladies” suggested Rego’s Purity mild. Since 4 -12oz came in a pack we had to have some every morning, oh darn! They were fab, so glad to see it got #2 in your taste test! It is expensive to ship to CA, so if anyone knows a close 2nd in So Cal and where to buy them can you post?
Mahalo!!!

Due to cost, don’t most manufacturers nowadays use “artificial” collagen-based casings?

Speaking of casing, have you ever tried Redondo’s Arabiki “Japanese style” sausage? Awesome! It has this wonderful “snap” when you bite into it, while flavor-wise, it’s like a teriyaki pork thing going on, albeit the grind is very “tight”. Most distinctively, Arabiki features a natural sheeps casing, hence the “snap”, along a higher higher price, based on weight.

I did a post a while ago featuring my own creation called the “Tonkrazy Dog“. Check it out at that link.

Yesterday I finally found a local retailer selling NOH Hawaiian Style Portuguese Sausage Seasoning Mix at, of all places, Longs Drugs (Mililani location). Neither Safeway, Times or Foodland had it, having every other NOH flavor but that one; go figure. Racists! lol I have yet to check if Don Quijote stocks it.

Anyhow, it was just $1.49 per packet, regular price. Surprising to see Longs selling a “Cat-10” item for such a low price.

I said yes some manufacturers use “artificial” collagen-based casings but it depends on type of sausage they are making.

I have tried Redondo’s Arabiki “Japanese style” sausage and found it to be an interesting taste and I did see your “Tonkrazy Dog“.

Besides Gaspar’s and Mello’s mentioned above as being resources for Portuguese sausage on the mainland, there are over 6 more Portuguese sausage companies in the Fall River, New Bedford, MA area and the difference between them is in how much fat is used, spice amounts, and the smoking process.

Gaspar’s by far is the largest manufacture and leanest Portuguese sausage but sometimes you want more paprika red greasy slick in your dish to add more flavor (like in a clam boil) so you go with another brand that has more fat in it.

By the way as a heads up to NOH home-made Portuguese sausage mix, all my linguica and Chouriço recipes suggest #1 if you are not going to cold smoke your home-made Portuguese sausage add some liquid smoke to the mix and #2 after making the Portuguese sausage let it rest in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days to develop its flavor before cooking.

Do you know anywhere locally where I can find casings, either natural or collagen-based? I asked the meat butcher in Times, and he didn’t know, suggesting I call Redondo’s, or perhaps hunt around Chinatown. Also, if I do find casings, do you think I can do it manually by stuffing the sausage mixture through a tube affixed to the casing (a homemade contraption), or will I need to buy a full-fledged sausage stuffer? I’d rather make sausages with this mix (vs. hand-pressed patties), and smoke it naturally, not with liquid smoke.

As for Linquica brands, this past week I spotted Silva’s HOT Linquica Portuguese Sausage in the Kapahulu Safeway (my regular haunt). It’s $5.49 for a pack of two fairly large sausages. Here’s their website:http://www.silvasausage.com

I’ll pick-up a package of Silva’s and throw that into the comparo with Rego’s Purity vs. your Gaspar’s brand.

Perhaps I’ll also throw in the Souza brand as well. Oh, wait, there is no Souza’s brand Portuguese Sausage… that is unless you consider the one I was born with. LOL!!!!

No I don’t know of anywhere locally you can purchase casings, either natural or collagen-based. However, I know a person locally that makes his own sausages every week: Henry Adaniya, the owner of Hank’s Haute Dogs.

I have a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer, which I added the sausage stuffer attachment (it converts the food grinder). If you get a large-enough funnel, you can use that as a sausage stuffer. My large sausage stuffer tube is 3/4″ in diameter, and small sausage stuffer tube is 7/16″ diameter.

Thanks for the heads-up on Silva’s HOT Linquica Portuguese Sausage in the Kapahulu Safeway. I’ll have to try it. Sounds like they’re making a cross between Linquica and Chourico.

Souza brand???? Don’t be so quick to say there is no Souza’s brand Portuguese Sausage, as I think there is one on the mainland, and it ever might be a relative of yours!!!! LOL

I noticed the difference between the Linquica and Chourico recipes. What makes Chourico different from Linquica, is that in a Chourico recipe the pork is cured in a brine and seasoned with garlic, black pepper and red wine. Just before the casings are filled, and paprika is added.

Regarding finding casings locally, still sounds like a “hunt”, however, thanks for the leads. I really don’t want yet another kitchen gadget, as I’m trying to live as a “minimalist” for the new year, and a sausage maker is such a “Unitasker”. I always thought a Kitchen-Aid mixer would be nice to have, but not NEED TO HAVE. Ya’ know? I’d probably use it once or twice a year, if even that, then put it under the cabinet in storage, taking up precious space. More practical to just buy the sausage already made (or baked goods, and what have you, that’s made using that), as far as I’m concerned.

I was thinking of stuffing the Portuguese-flavored ground pork in Aburage (a deep-fried Tofu pouch), using that as a faux casing of sorts. Only thing, I’m not sure how that will fry-up enough without burning, in order to fully cook the marinaded ground pork stuffing. Yet I’m confident it will at least taste great. Especially in being that it will help to seal-in the flavors from the spices and fat in the pork. Ah, what the heck, I’ll just try it!

I’ll go get the Silva brand Linguica Portuguese Sausage later today, and post a pic of it here, then throw it in the freezer until I’m ready to blog it along with your Gaspar’s Linquica and Chorizo.

As for the “Souza brand” Portuguese Sausage, I’m “well-related” to my own body, thank you very much. LOL!!!

Go to Bed Bath & Beyond in Aiea and get a clamp on meat grinder and sausage stuffer for $29.99. Takes up less space and way way cheaper than a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer with accessories.

Oh—I looked at the Silva brand Linguica Portuguese Sausage web site. Their Linguica is shaped like Gaspar’s Chourico. Also the list of ingredients in the Silva brand Linguica has chili in it????? On one of the pages the Linguica is referred to as chorizo. Portuguese Chourico and Spanish chorizo are interchangeable in a recipe. I have no idea what Silva brand Linguica Portuguese Sausage is or what it will taste like.

Jus’ thought I’d chime in on the discussion: I grew up in Honolulu and have been living on the mainland ever since I went off and joined the Army in the 70’s. Been looking for “pordagee sausage” everywhere I’ve lived (GA, NC, FL, VA and CA) but no real luck; and forget about finding any in Germany! LOL My only salvation was the semi-annual trips back to Kapahulu and bringing back pordagee sausage. I found that freezing them and packing them in some insulated packages (that you can open and show security at the airport). They may thaw out enroute, but re-freeze OK and taste great when you thaw them out months later to eat! I am now working in Alabama, and surprise! I found Portugese (note formal spelling) Linguica in a supermarket in Meridianville, AL! It was made by Gaspar’s in Massachusetts (big Portugese population in New England) and pricey, about $7 for a single 1 pound sausage. My jones for pordagee sausage was so strong that I had to try ’em! As some of the comments made on this page have stated, the Hawaiian version is different from this East Coast version. The Gaspar’s linguica was very solid and meaty, good spice with that nice distinctive “vinegary” tang. But maybe it was the lack of fat in it that the island versions have that made the difference… who doesn’t enjoy it when the rice soaks up that red grease…. mmmmmmmm. I can’t say I was disappointed, cause it was ono! But, it was hard for me to hang a local memory on it… bummahs. Anyway, I looked up Gaspar’s on the web and they got some amazing linguica-ized stuff! linguica hot dogs, little smokies-style linguica pups, bulk (unstuffed) linguica and the best one… linguica slices (cold-cut salami style)! The last one reminded me of a product my mom used to fry up and make sandwiches for us called burgeesa or borgesa, something like that, that was a bologna sized sliced cold cut that tasted like portugese sausage (complete with that distinctive red grease that would soak into the bread like extra sandwich spread)…. I think I’m gonna order some and try ’em! Here is the web link to Gaspar’s… maybe there’s hope for us ex-pat locals stuck on the Mainland in-between trips back home! http://www.gasparssausage.com/gaslin.html

Huge mahalos for all that detailed info’ on finding Portuguese Sausage all over the mainland. You hit the nail on the head when you said the “rice soaks up that red grease”. Oh yeah, that’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout! That, plus the runny sunnyside-up egg yolk? Brah, talk about local ‘kine comfort food at its best! Small ‘kine stroke, but worth every bite! lol

Anyway, I’m looking forward to blogging the Gaspar’s Linquica and Chorizo KenW gave me. It will be interesting comparing against several local brands, which I plan on doing (I’ve expanded the window here).

I also will do a product review of the NOH brand “Hawaiian style Portuguese Sausage Seasoning” packet. If that pulls it off as tasting like the local style, then you Hawaii expat folks on the mainland and abroad are set! Load-up on those packets (cheap!), add ground pork, cook ’em, add eggs and rice, and BAM!

You have the following Portuguese Sausage makers all located in the Fall River and New Bedford, MA area on the mainland. This is where your original New England whalers came from to Hawaii hunting Humpback whales also carrying Portuguese Sausage with them.

Gaspar’s Sausage Co., Inc. is by far the largest manufacturer in the USA and one of the oldest.

Mello’s North End Manufacturers Inc.

Furtado’s Chourico & Linguica (North End Provision Co Inc.)

Acoreana Manufacturing Co. (New England Sausage Co)

Amaral’s Lisbon Sausage Co. Inc.

A Luiz & Sons (Luiz Chourico Products)

Sardinha’s Sausage Company, Inc.

Michael’s Provisions

Gaspar’s is the leanest sausage and all others vary in amount of spices, fat to pork ratio, paprika and smoke curing flavor. Thus you’ll get plenty of “distinctive red grease” with some of the brands. All have internet online stores.

Interesting. Here is a picture of sausage from Acoreana. It looks like how sausage used to look (except Gouveias) when I was young, until the mid 70s. Then it all changed to a uniform grind. Smoke flavor and the fall apart factor disappeared.

When we were living in CA and my mother-in-law used to visit, she would bring us Uncle Louie’s Portuguese Sausage frozen and wrapped in tin foil, then put in the luggage. It was still pretty cold when we took it out of the luggage and threw it into the freezer.

I was honestly kinda’ bummed that Uncle Louie’s (Maui brand) didn’t fare so well against the competition in this taste comparo’, as I really like to pull for anything made on the neighbor islands. Too bad you never got to try the Ah Fook’s (Kahului) No Ka Oi brand Portuguese Suasage, which has since closed operations. Those were up there in my top 3, along with Frank’s (Hilo) and Purity (Oahu).

Regular Portuguese linguica does not have cayenne pepper and crushed chili peppers in it.

Regular Portuguese chourico has Portuguese piri piri sauce in it made from very small hot bird’s-eye chiles mixed with garlic, lemon juice and olive oil and left to steep for a month or two to develop fiery flavor.

All 8 of the Fall River, New Bedford, MA and 1 West Warwick, RI Portuguese Sausage makers I know of do not fully cook their linguica and chourico but cold smoke their sausages to develop a certain flavor as they do not want to melt the fat within the sausage and none of them use MSG.

Silva’s Hot Linguica sounds and looks like they are making a copy of Portuguese Chourico but calling it Hot Linguica and even on the Silva’s website on one page they refer to their linguica as chorizo.

Spanish hot chorizo can be substituted for Portuguese Chourico in a recipe.

Along with MSG, another “questionable” ingredient commonly found in preserved meats and sausages is Sodium Nitrite (along with Sodium Nitrate). This ingredient preserves the color of the meat/sausage, while also acting as a Botulism inhibitor. Sodium Nitrite has been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals when consumed in large quantities, however the amount used in human-consumed meats is relatively low.

Still, surely that adds up over the years of one’s life, along with all the animal fat, which obviously isn’t going to earn health points anytime soon.

I finally have time to smoke the tako today. Along with that, I’ll also smoke my own Portuguese Sausage using the NOH seasoning mix, which I had marinading the ground pork overnight. Should be interesting!

BARCELOS LINGUICA INC. is a producer of ALL NATURAL linguica, chourico, and more, based in California. Its products are traditional home-style, containing NO MSG, GLUTEN FREE, MILK FREE, No ADDED NITRATES & NITRITES, and PORK RAISED WITHOUT ANTIBIOTICS AND HORMONES.

According to the website, Barcelos Linguica, Inc.: http://www.barceloslinguica.com is made in Tracy, California by Joe Barcelos who immigrated to U.S.A in 1969 from native island of Sao Jorge, Azores, Portugal. He started Barcelos Linguica, Inc. commercially in 2008. The company office listed on the web site is a Ups Brown rented mail box in a Tracy, CA shopping plaza so where and who really makes this sausage is questionable as the package says “Distributed by Barcelos Linguica, Tracy, CA 95376”.

I purchased Hot Linguica and Chourico which I haven’t tested it yet to Gaspar’s Portuguese Sausage but at least you now have two sources of real smoked Portuguese sausage which is compared to Portuguese sausage made in Massachusetts. Barcelos Linguica, Inc. indicates it is all natural with no milk, no nitrates and pork fed no antibiotics or hormones.

Silva’s Hot Linguica Hickory Smoked Portuguese Style Sausage has been in business 35 years but it uses Non Fat Milk Powder as a binder for spices, MSG and Sodium Nitrite.

By the way, Furtado’s Chourico & Linguica (North End Provision Co Inc.) is the oldest Portuguese sausage maker in Fall River, MA according to Gaspar’s Portuguese Sausage which started in 1912 and is ranked 2nd oldest Portuguese sausage maker and the largest in the united States by volume of over 3 million Lbs. per year.

Not sure where you get your info, but Silva Sausage in California produces on average 25,000 lbs of sausage per day. That’s over 9 million per year.

I’ve tried many brands of linguica and portuguese sausage, and the one’s I tend to dislike are the heavily smoked one’s. I find that it overpowers the flavor of the sausage, not to mention a strong aftertaste. I also never understood why most manufacturers see the need to use powdered milk.

I get my info from visiting the sausage maker’s actual factory store which was very easy living near Fall River and New Bedford, MA., their web sites and actual product packaging.

You failed to indicate Silva Sausage makes 14 different types of sausage with only one being Portuguese linguica. Take out the other 13 types of sausage from the 25,000 lbs. per day and then tell me how many pounds of linguica a year Silva Sausage makes.

According to Gaspar’s web site they say they are the largest producer of just linguica and chourico in the U.S. at over 3 million lbs. a year. If you think Silva Sausage makes over 3 million lbs. of linguica a year then that is a discussion you’ll have with Gaspar’s Sausage. They’ve only been in business since 1912.

Smoke flavoring all depends on type of medium used to produce the smoke (wood, vine, herbs), duration of smoking process, whether using cold smoking or hot smoking method, type of sausage casing and if sausage meat was pre-cured before smoking.

As indicated by all the MA. sausage makers they use powdered milk as a spice binder.

The other thing that is very noticeable is all the old world Portuguese sausage makers in MA. have great pride in their sausage products and the pride shows in their products via the national colors of Portugal in the product labels.

So far I have not seen that pride in the two CA. Portuguese sausage makers.

I don’t mean any disrespect, you obviously have a tremendous passion for the east coast producers. I’ve tried them all, even the authentic one’s in Portugal and Azores. You are correct in that Silva Sausage produces many other varieties, however it makes up only a small percentage. Even if you cut 25,000 in half (12,500), its still over 4 million/year. Gaspar’s is one of the oldest, no doubt, but that does not mean they produce the most.

Regarding your statement on pride, that is highly offensive and far from the truth. So you’re saying that if you don’t flash red and green on the label, you don’t have pride? LOL! Ridiculous!

A lot of home sausage makers will tell you that adding the dry milk powder will retain moisture and aid in binding of the sausage while going through the smoking process. Otherwise the sausage meat will be dry and crumbly. So I’ve been told, I haven’t needed it. But seems logical, maybe not traditional. and handcuff small dice 1/4″-1/2″ on the meat is traditional not run through a grinder and the addition of cut up pork fat. This is what separates LInguiça and Choriço the unique Character.

I decided to separate the Chorizo Sausage shootout for another post, as I have too many already to deal with. I was getting a stroke just taking photos and cutting them up. lol

As for the Chorizo, so far I have your Gaspar’s brand, the Cacique (pronounced “Kah’see-kay”) and the one up to this point that I think tastes best, being the Marca El Rey brand (in the green can). There’s a lot more mainland and locally-made Chorizo available locally that I get and add to that one.

Furtado’s Chourico & Linguica been in business making Portuguese Sausage since 1903 and they are the 2nd largest producer behind Gaspar’s Sausage Co.,Inc.which started in 1912 and Amaral’s Lisbon Sausage Co. Inc. is the 3rd oldest.

Your big difference is mainland Portuguese Sausage made by old world Portuguese sausage makers and Hawaii Portuguese sausage makers that have copied and modified to suit local tastes.

There are tons of different types of Chorizo!!!!

Basic is you got Mexican which is uncooked and raw you take out of casing and fry it like ground beef so you can’t compare it to Portuguese Sausage or Spanish Chorizo.

You have Portuguese Chouriço made with wine and Piri Piri Sauce (marinated African hot birdseye chilies) which is different than Chorizo but can be substituted for Chorizo. Normally Chouriço is made regular, medium hot and hot.

To add to confusion some sausage makers are making Portuguese Linguica (has vinegar in it) which is normally mild like kielbasa and completely different from Chorizo in regular, medium hot and hot versions.

Then there are all the other countries in the world that make Chorizo in sweet, mild and hot; smoked and not smoked with best known made in Spain and South America.

In Hawaii there is the “green can Chorizo” which is Filipino style Chorizo called Marca El Rey produced in Nebraska at ConAgra Foods. This Chorizo is really finely ground and fall apart when you slice them.

I purchased three types of imported Spanish Chorizo in Foodland Kapolei. One out of the three was hot like Portuguese Chouriço. I also purchased Spanish Chorizo at Tamura’s Super Market, Waianae made by Goya (that was mild).

I tried Barcelos Linguica, Inc. (purchased in Tamura’s Super Market, Waianae) hot Portuguese Linguica today. It was hot like hot Portuguese Chouriço but it was flat in taste with no depth in flavor lacking the taste and punch of paprika and smoke flavor. I’ve got to try Barcelos Linguica, Inc. Portuguese Chouriço next.

I grew up eating old world crafted Portuguese Sausage Linguica and Chouriço for over 60 years in the Fall River and New Bedford, MA area manufactured by Portuguese sausage makers who started their businesses in 1903 and 1912. I also purchased artesian Portuguese Linguica and Chouriço Sausage hand crafted and hand stuffed from a Portuguese market. In all cases you could go directly to the factory store and smell and see the ongoing natural smoking process. There was no liquid smoke process. I still order 12 lbs. of Portuguese Sausage Linguica and Chouriço from Fall River, MA every 90 days so when I indicated to my individual taste an item is flat and lacking smoke flavor I have the base line old world crafted Portuguese Linguica and Chouriço Sausage flavor to compare it to. Maybe one day when I am in Tracy, CA. I’ll stop by your office and you can give me a tour of your factory.

That said, I must say, after just doing tasting of local Portuguese sausages once again, the commercial brands from Oahu for the most part aren’t smoked, whereas the mainland brands are. However, when I smoked my own using the NOH seasoning mix, it was AWESOME. In fact, that blew away every brand, except Purity. But shhhh, don’t tell anyone I said that, as I’m still working on my new post. He he.

My ex-wife’s Uncle used to make and smoke his own Portuguese sausage. Slice that baby, and you see chunks of pork – no fine ground meat. Best sausage Ive ever had, and nothing on the market can really compare. Sadly, he passed away two years ago, and the skillz and recipe went with him…but I have to say, the texture of the sausage plus the smoking made ALL the difference in the world!

At least for my palate, the local brands won the taste test. My only explanation is that Gaspar’s and Silva’s were previously frozen, so they were at a disadvantage to the fresh, never frozen local brands. At least to be fair. I still say the best Portuguese Sausage are Frank’s from Hilo, and the now defunct Ah Fook’s brand from Ah Fook’s market in Kahului, Maui.

Here’s a recipe for Portuguese sausage clipped from a long-ago Honolulu Star Bulletin article. According to the article the recipe for Hilo Portuguese Sausage is from the “All Hawaiian Cook Book, E Ho`Olako Mau, Vol. II” by Tamar Luke Panee.

I’ve never tried it to make it myself, but it could be a great fundraiser or Christmas gift.

Cut pork in very small cubes and place in large pan. Sprinkle with salt and prague powder. Wear gloves and mix well with hands. Puree in blender: vinegar, garlic cloves, and chili peppers. Pour over pork and mix well. Add sherry and paprika. Mix again. In 4 hours mix again and again in another 4 hours. Leave covered in a cool place overnight. Sausage preparation usually starts in the late afternoon. Before going to bed, stir by hand, mixing well.

Next day test by frying a little and taste the fat to see if the mixture is seasoned to your taste. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Filling sausage casings:

1. Flush water through casing. Cut out those parts with holes. Cut into desired lengths, about 24 to 28 inches.

2. Pack sausage mix in casings. Tie one end with string, leave the other end open to fill. Fill casing only 3/4 full. When filling by hand, slit casing at open end 3 or 4 inches to hold with right hand, and use your left hand to fill. Then secure with string.

the absolute best I have ever tasted (and I understand everyone has a personnel favorite) is fom Maui “Nokaoi” !!! Gone forever as it has gone out of business. Live in Chi IL and can not find a close second….yet!!

You all are missing the greatest Portuguese Sausage secret that has hit the island of Maui. It’s called Aloha Links Portuguese Sausage Co. made by Bobby Estrella. A specialty, not sold in stores. Made in a health dept. certified shop in Pukalani. You can call to order or stop by the Queen Kaahumanu Center on Wed. And Fri. Only between 7:30am-11:30am. Ask any Maui resident and they will tell you it is the best ever. Most will say.Betta than No Ka Oi”.if you like Portuguese Sausage, and not buying this one, you are simply buying the wrong one period. Their number is 808-572-7458. This sausage is handmade and smoked over Kiawe wood for four hours. It is chunky not finely ground like the commercial ones. This is made like the ones our grand pa ‘s used to make. It is the only ones like this. You will definitely be thanking me later. Remember, you cannot find this in any store or market. This is an unbelievable treat. Trust me!

Yeah, Maui’s Aloha Links is by far beyond all of these sausages in the shoot out, I’ve had all of the brands mentioned here and to tell you the truth none of them even comes close. Aloha Links Portuguese Sausage is in a class by itself. It makes you feel like you’re back in your childhood again. When I was on Maui, the Ah Fool’s employees sent me to the Queen Kaahumanu Shopping Center to buy Aloha Links and I’m sure glad that they did. Now, all my friends and relatives buy it and cannot go back to the store bought ones. Once you’ve had Aloha Links you just cannot go back.

I’m a retired meatcutter for 40 years and also being Portuguese .I’ve have had the oppurtunity to have made and tasted many diffrent sausages.Linguica being my favorite.I have yet to find the type of Linguica that matches the old style of my youth.That had a chunky hand cut consistentcy.With large chunks of fat blended in.The spices were strong and a definate vinager finish.Most of these sausages ,and I’ve ordered quite a few, are coarse ground or even worse fine ground.If anyone out there has found the type of Linguica described please let me know.

You being of Portuguese decent and retired meatcutter you’ll appreciate what I have to say next. Real Portuguese Linguica and Chouriço Sausage are totally different and not like Hawaiian Portuguese sausage. The best in New England if not best in the U.S.A. artesian old world style hand crafted and hand stuffed Portuguese Linguica and Chouriço Sausage is made at the Portuguese American Market 65 Brookside Ave., West Warwick, RI 02893; Tel: (401) 828-2270. Mon, Wed and Fri you can find the ladies in hair nets and white aprons sitting around the stainless-steel table hand cutting the marinated pork and fat hand stuffing the natural casings into links at the back of the store behind counter; Tue and Thu are sausage smoking days so neighborhood has the smoking flavor in the air. Finished Portuguese Linguica and Chouriço Sausage is in the meat display case grated by lean, semi-lean, some fat and fatty plus regular, mild, hot spicy and very hot spicy. It is so good I kept 5 lbs. in my freezer at all times.

Fall River and New Bedford, MA into East Providence, RI are the centers for all the Portuguese in Southern New England. Major old world Portuguese Linguica and Chouriço Sausage makers are mostly located in Fall River, MA. Gaspar’s, Mello’s, Furtado’s, Amaral’s Lisbon Sausage Co. Inc., and Michaels Provision all have mail order and internet websites. The difference between the sausage makers is leanness of product (Gaspar’s being the leanest and most costly) and spicy heat.

I love my portugese sausage and have been eating it all my life. I think the Hawaiian Brand Portugese Sausage is the best tasting today in my opinion. But I remember when Gouveia’s Portgese Sausage ruled. They were the best tasting and most popular sausage back in the day. What happened?! This was the sausage that was a must to take to the mainland for family and friends. It’s so disappointing now. Their sausages in spite of the many varieites they have doesn’t even taste anything like the sausages back in the seventies and eighties! I don’t get why they changed the recipe or just leave it the way it was. I never buy Gouveia’s anymore and haven’t for decades because that unique great taste just isn’t there.

Koans, I always hated Gouveia, being an old Miko fan with the chunk cut. But I know what you mean. That flavor was black pepper I stead of red. Was very different than homemade or the other store brands. And you are right. Why not package the old style?

i think it will always be what you grew up on. Having spent my youth in California my Kauai Vovo used to make her own, and we had a Portagee butcher who used to sell linguica,Chourice, and morcellas too.mmsomimthink it’s ironic Rego’s Purity brand is now made in California by Silva’s. Which was our staple after the butcher retired and my Vovo passed on
She was born in Kauai during the kingdom days and our family recipe is more like California/Mass-style linguica than the Hawaiian sausage. I prefer the chunky style that was traditional like my family makes to this day. In Cali there are three new from Azores Portuguese linguica makers in Tracy, CA you have both Fernandes(fur-nahnz)not Spanish(fur-nan-dez) sausage and portuguese products and Barcelos sausage and meats. and what I think is the closest to my Ohana from Sao Miguel is Goulart’s Sausage in Santa Clara real classic and brings back memories of my nana and Vovo! But it’s all good! Portagee sausage rules, I still make my Vovo’s sausage in pattie form quicker less work. Obrigado! FYI( I was told that the Japanese word for thank you Arigato came from Portuguese visits in the 15th century. So did tempura! Funny!

Glenn. you are so right, chunky or coarse grind makes the best sausage….Oh, the joy of linguica…my very favorite way to serve starts with a cheap red wine in a sauce pan. cut the sausages into bun lengths first and place into pan. cover with wine and let simmer overnight. place on hoagie roll or hotdog bun and enjoy! it will be soft and full of flavor, a must try……

Interesting. First time I’ve heard of Papo Secos. Don’t recall ever seeing it in the bakeries here, however perhaps I just wasn’t look for it. Incredibly, I called Agnes Bake Shop and Leonard’s Bakery, two of the main Portuguese bakeries here, and neither of them make it, according to the people I spoke with on the phone. They didn’t even have a clue what it was either!

Also first time I’ve heard of Bifana (Portuguese Meat Sandwich). I know, terrible for a guy who’s half Portuguese! I better connect better with my culinary heritage roots!

and a staple for PortugueseKale/Cabbage/Couves and potatoes Soup or Portuguese bean soup or “Sopish”

and that would be “Broa”/Pão de Milho a rustic crusty boule of Portuguese Corn bread ( not the Haole southern corn bread. but more like a french or italian rustic bread made with wheat and fine white(preferable or yellow Corn meal…aka Polenta kine corn meal/grits.

These were always seen at my Vovo’s and Nana’s hale. There are others you know Malassadas or sometimes called “Fihlose” and Sohnos all fried sweet dough…

Not many bakeries know or make all the different Portuguese pastries, we have tried to continue this in our Ohana Azorean, São Miguel tradition still relevant to our Hale…Mele Kalikimaka and Hau’oli Makahiki Hou! Braddah!

Such great info’ you provided on Azorean baked goods, including the proper pronunciation. My grandmother (dad’s mom) had a very thick Portuguese accent, being she was second generation (my great grandparents were direct from the Azores). So weird how the Portuguese language ends many words with “sh”, whereas its neighbor Spain several other European languages mostly pronounce words that end with “s” as silent.

You said, “Bolos Levedos (“Bolsh”-“Lehvsh”) sometimes called the three meal bread. i call it the Portagee English Muffin…think of Portuguese sweet bread had a love child with an English Muffin.”

OK, now Bolos Levodos is a MUST-TRY for me! Yet another Portuguese style bread you’ve enlightened me with. When you say it’s like a Portuguese Bread/English Muffin hybrid, I would be so into that, being I LOVE English Muffins!

Oh, the joy of linguica…my very favorite way to serve starts with a cheap red wine in a sauce pan. cut the sausages into bun lengths first and place into pan. cover with wine and let simmer overnight. place on hoagie roll or hotdog bun and enjoy! it will be soft and full of flavor, a must try……

back in the 60’s while at UH i also worked at Swifts making Portuguese sausage, since i like things spicy i would put in more chilies than required in the hope i would be able to get one of the sausages that we made. LOL

I don’t know where to begin…… I am a BIG fan of Portuguese Sausage. Particularly from the “homeland”. However, I am surprised at the acceptance of certain toxic ingredients we now find commonly listed on the label. Sodium nitrite, MSG, Sodium Erythorbate are toxins that cause numerous health issues. Cancer, Alzheimer’s, High Blood Pressure, just to name a few. Hawaiian elders never used these items and the sausage was just as enjoyable, if not better. I was sort of under the impression that many Hawaiian’s were aware of this and refrained from using it. Sadly, i guess that isn’t the case. I’ll press on in buying the ones that contain no added nitrates or MSG. Live Healthy!!

Thanks Pomai for the Local kine Pordagee sausage blog. Da Ken guy’s comments regarding the real kine from the east coast is great but most non-Hawai’i born commenters forget that your test is about the best tasting local produced sausage – da kine that locals love!

For us island expats, any kind of linguica that we can find is good, maybe not what we remember from home, but a good second.

So, let the Ken guy rant about the REAL style from the east coast and keep blogging on the taste that we island born peeps love!

Ken actually likes the flavor of the local brands and totally respects it. He’s like everyone else, who still prefers the taste of what he’s used to growing up, which for him is the Gaspar’s brand Linguica, common on the east coast of the US. Ken’s not ranting, just trying to point out what’s the the most authentic to actual Linguica from Portugal, which I would LOVE to try!

While you and I both love it, the Hawaii style Portuguese Sausage recipes have obviously strayed far away — not only geographically speaking — from that of the homeland of Portugal.

Here in Hilo many of the hunters make their own version of smoked portueguese sausage. It is so different and very outstanding in texture and taste. You often see people selling these on the side of the road with smoke meat here in Hilo. Have you ever had these before?

Interestingly, one of the competitors in that Portuguese Sausage shootout was from “Hilo Homemade by Nelli778’s Family Friend”. Not surprisingly, it took last place, only because like many of us, we’re used to what we grew up with. So if you didn’t grow up eating those “hard core home smoked” stuff, it might taste too “different” than what we’re used to that’s from the store.

Just like if someone offered their AMAZING gourmet homemade mayonnaise made from scratch, no matter what, the preferred will still be Best Foods. Of course that’s totally SKEWED, but some folks just will not think outside the box they were raised in.

Me? I can TOTALLY appreciate artisan foods made by home cooks, easily knowing its superiority to anything sold commercially, including the said homemade, home-smoked Portuguese Sausage and smoke meat you mention. LOVE THAT kinda’ stuffs!

Speaking of Hilo, as you notice, Frank’s brand from there actually won this shootout. And now we can get all Frank’s sausages right here on Oahu at Don Quijote and Marukai. Only caveat, it’s relatively pricey. But hey, so is a buttery, totally superior Holy’s Apple Pie out of Kapa’au, but still…. totally worth it!

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